Or at least Robert X. Cringely thinks so. He believes that Apple could use a small part ($3 Billion) of its cash hoard of nearly $30 Billion to buy Internet rights to virtually all network television shows for sale/rent/whatever to Apple customers. He may have something here, although his ratio of correct to incorrect predictions is, I would say, somewhat low. Nonetheless, it is an interesting proposition. (h/t MacDailyNews)
When you buy an episode on iTunes everyone in the production food chain makes a profit.
Hulu and its ilk are money-losing services that rely largely on concessions in various guild contracts that pretty much keep the writers and producers and actors from sharing in profits that aren’t there anyway, at least not yet.
How is this a threat to iTunes?
Fox owns a big chunk of Hulu, yet American Idol performances are exclusively available on iTunes, not Hulu. Why is that? Because American Idol performances on iTunes make a lot of MONEY, that’s why. Adam Lambert downloads alone make more money every week — a LOT more money — than do ALL the shows on Hulu put together.
So Apple is being criticized and seen as an Internet antique because it is making a profit? I don’t get it.